China Seeks 70% More Iraqi Crude

China is attempting to increase purchases of its crude by more than two-thirds next year, according to a report from Reuters.

“Iraq is in a lucky position because we always get more requests than we can actually supply,” deputy prime minister for energy Hussain Al-Shahristani said on Wednesday at the World Energy Congress in South Korea.

He added that China is requesting 850,000 bpd of crude from Iraq next year.

Saudi Arabia shipped 1.08 million bpd of crude to China in the first eight months of this year, while Baghdad has an annual term deal to sell about 500,000 bpd into China this year.